idealism

1. in philosophy, the position that reality, including the natural world, is not independent of mind. Positions range from strong forms, holding that mind constitutes the things of reality, to weaker forms, holding that reality is correlated with the workings of the mind. There is also a range of positions as to the nature of mind, from those holding that mind must be conceived of as absolute, universal, and apart from nature itself to those holding that mind may be conceived of as individual minds. See absolute idealism; idealistic monism; subjective idealism. See also mind–body problem.

2. commitment to moral, political, or religious ideals.

3. see Platonic idealism. Compare materialism. —idealist n. —idealistic adj.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

September 17th 2024

tremor

n. any involuntary trembling of the body or a part of the body (e.g., the hands) due to neurological or psychological causes. Psychological (or psychogenic) tremor may be mild, due to tension, or violent and uncontrolled in severe disturbances. Toxic effects of drugs or heavy metals may produce a transient tremor. A coarse tremor involves a large muscle group in slow movements, whereas a fine tremor is caused by a small bundle of muscle fibers that move rapidly. Some tremors occur only during voluntary movements (see action tremor); others occur in the absence of voluntary movement (see resting tremor). See also essential tremor.